1:48 Hungarian National Insignias and Numbers (1950-1990) Dry-Water Decal Sheet

The red star over Hungary, forty years of one form

The period set out in the name begins with the years when the Hungarian Air Force was re-equipping with Soviet-designed machines and ends with the political break of 1990. Throughout that whole time the machines carried a star on the fuselage and on the vertical tail, complemented by a tactical number, which alone told one example from another.

It is precisely the numbers that tend to be the stumbling block with Hungarian subjects. The sets supplied with kits are usually enough for one chosen example, whereas this sheet is conceived as a stock: a modeler can put together from it whatever number he has found on a period photograph, without having to sacrifice another set.

Which machines it is for

Most Hungarian types of that era fall into 1:48 scale: jet fighters, two-seat trainers and attack and transport helicopters. The sheet is not tied to a single aircraft or to one kit, so it lasts for several models built one after another, with no need to decide which project comes first.

• It contains national insignia in several sizes for the fuselage and the tail surfaces.
• The numerals allow two-digit as well as three-digit tactical numbers to be put together.
• The scope corresponds to four decades of Hungarian military service.
• The range the manufacturer designates as dry-water is separate from the older sheets of the same subject.

The base deserves a smooth gloss surface; matte paint under a decal creates microscopic bubbles which show up as a light edge around the insignia. Once dry, it is varnished over with a matte or semi-gloss varnish, depending on how well the real machine was maintained.